#348 - A New Engine

We were able to sleep in until nine this morning and boy did we both need the extra sleep.

I had a ten AM meeting scheduled with the art director and I had to get some things ready for that meeting. But right off the start, I was bombarded with messages as soon as I sat down at my desk. I must have spoken to ever department today as my supervisor took a vacation day and I was there go-to person.

I spoke to the painters, the scene setup director, the animation director and that was just the start. My ten AM meeting got pushed to one thirty and I thought that was a good thig at the time it happened.

At the very least it allowed me to concentrate on all the requests I was getting peppered with. I managed to complete one task, and another appeared to take its place. By ten thirty things started to cool down for a bit and I thought that would be the worst of it.

I went down and made myself a cup of tea and toasted some cinnamon raison bread which I slathered in butter. I haven’t had raisin bread in a while, and it was amazing. So simple and so good.

I ended up working straight through lunch preparing as many files for the art director as I was able. We were going to discuss some of the changes she wanted during that meeting, so the more work I had to show her the better.

Robyn’s heart nearly broke when I said I couldn’t go for a walk at lunch. The weather looked just about perfect out there. But duty called.

Just as I logged into the meeting I git another request from the scene setup department. What they needed from me meant using my computer and tying it up in a process that could last for an unknown amount of time. So, I didn’t want to do it and then have the art director show up.

But I rolled the dice and the file rendered quickly enough that I was able to get it to the setup department just as the art director logged into the meeting fifteen minutes late. She apologized, but I know she gets peppered with more meetings and requests than I do in each day. So, we like to take it easy on her in this Friday meeting.

She went through the paintings for this episode and had some comments. Most of the revisions were minor and wouldn’t take too long to complete. She also managed to approve some paintings and that meant after our short meeting was done, I could send some finished art to the setup department and keep them busy for a little while longer.

About that time, I got a call from the dealership and the service guy wanted to know if I would like to hear the good news or the bad news first. Then he corrected and said the bad news was medium news.

My Scottish heritage forces me to hear the bad first and he told me that my car needed a new idler pulley and that it wouldn’t arrive until Tuesday. The cost would be about two hundred dollars. Then he told me the good news is that my engine needs to completely replaced.

Excuse me?

But the engine repair was covered under a warranty I didn’t know I had and the new engine had already been installed in my car. All at no charge. And then he told me that the inspection fee had been waved which was a little over $200. Which is what I had to pay for the pulley, so they cancelled each other out in my mind. The poor sounded like he was ready for me to lose my mind and go postal on him.

All I heard was brand new engine for two hundred dollars.

Bargain.

I was very surprised that the engine was still under warranty since the car is a 2015. Sure, I bought it in 2019 and maybe I got an extended warranty on it, but I sure as hell can’t remember that far back. I am usually the guy that refuses the extra warranty scams at places like Best Buy.

The rest of the day was more of the same, getting last minute requests to solve mysteries for other departments. I stopped work at five fifteen and wished my team a good weekend.

Robyn invited our friends Paul and Laura over later for some drinks and a chat. So, I took the opportunity to watch an episode of Darkness on Apple TV, then had a spa bubble bath and tidied the house while Robyn went off to her second job.

I cheated a bit and used our Roomba, Huey Rebooted, to sweep the floors of the main level while I soaked in the tub. Selfcare is just important as house cleaning.

Maybe more so.

Paul and Laura called to ask if we were interested in sharing some Thai food if they brought some, and since we hadn’t eaten yet it was an automatic yes.

We sat in the backyard on the deck and waited for them to arrive. Robyn did her school reading and I did some writing. It was a nice night to sit outside.

Paul and Laura arrived with a mountain of food, and we all dug in merrily.

Afterwards we served them coffee and tea. I heated the poached pears and reduced the sauce a little before crumbling the goat’s cheese and adding some chopped walnuts, pine nuts and pecans that I heated in a pan first.

The dessert went over well with everyone and went well with the coffee and tea.

Paul and Laura have been burning the candle at both ends for the last little while and they needed a night that wasn’t about purging their possessions or organizing things. And we were happy to host. We chatted until about eleven and that’s when the yawning started and quickly spread. After saying our goodbyes, I headed up to bed and cracked open the windows. The night was nice and cool and felt like it would be a great temperature for sleeping.

Robyn joined me shortly after and we put on an episode of The Daily Show to end the night with a bit of a laugh and a bit of news from the past week.

Overall, it’s been a busy week for everyone, filled with all sorts of new adventures and experiences from the start of the new school year to getting a new engine for the car.

Certainly, there have been enough things this week to keoo us on our toes!

Until tomorrow.